Chapter 1: Awakening. So, she was the “White Moonlight” who was slain…

The sky gradually darkened, and the rain began to fall quietly.

Su Zhenyue lay in bed, her eyelids feeling as if they weighed a thousand catties, her consciousness hazy. It seemed someone was speaking, the sound drifting into her ears mixed with the rain.

“Has the young lady not woken yet?”

“No.”

“Sigh, our young lady is truly pitiful. She lost her parents when she was young, and then her marriage was stolen. And now…”

“Hush, keep your voice down. That was an imperial marriage decree, what do you mean stolen? The Old Madam said that the young lady and the Heir Apparent only share the affection of siblings. Don’t say such baseless things.”

“If it were truly just sibling affection, why would they send the young lady to the estate? And if sending her to the estate wasn’t enough, they had to push her into the water. It’s obvious they want her dead…”

“Stop talking! Do you have a death wish? It was said that falling into the water was an accident! If you keep shouting nonsense like this, you’ll be the one who truly gets the young lady killed.”

…

Su Zhenyue was still trapped in that long dream, half-awake and half-muddled. But the voices were far too familiar.

Who were they? Why couldn’t she remember at all?

She desperately wanted to open her eyes, to try and see the speakers’ faces.

The candlelight flickered, and the room was somewhat dim. Su Zhenyue squinted, finally seeing the light cyan bed canopy above her, as well as the two maids by her bedside: Doukou and Nanxing.

Doukou looked to be only fourteen or fifteen, her hair in double buns, her face round and chubby.

And Nanxing was not the bruised and emaciated figure she remembered; at this moment, her cheeks were rosy with a healthy, lustrous glow.

Su Zhenyue’s eyes warmed, and she reached a hand out from behind the bed curtains, wanting to touch them.

However, before she could make contact, the two noticed her movement, their faces lighting up with surprise. “She’s awake! The young lady is finally awake!”

“Young lady, how are you feeling?” Nanxing used the back of her hand to test her forehead. “Should you take your medicine now? Or should we call the physician over again?”

They had just been worrying about how to give her the medicine. Thankfully, the young lady had woken up, or else they would have had to force it down.

Doukou, however, was more concerned with another matter, asking with a sob in her voice, “Young lady, was it the Princess who pushed you into the water?”

Nanxing quickly tugged on her sleeve, signaling her not to speak recklessly.

Fell into the water? The Princess?

Su Zhenyue remained silent. Her butterfly-wing lashes trembled lightly, casting a small shadow on her snow-white face. The initial confusion in her eyes gradually gave way to clarity.

Thank goodness, she wasn’t dead. She had only been dreaming.

But the contents of the dream were vivid and terrifying, suffocating her until she could barely breathe.

“Young lady…” Nanxing keenly sensed that something was wrong with her. Panic seized her heart, and her voice trembled unconsciously.

A lingering fear remained in the depths of Su Zhenyue’s eyes. Her lips moved, but she couldn’t make a sound.

While unconscious, she’d had a dream that was both realistic and absurd.

In the dream, she had lived out her short life, dying at just over twenty. It was only after her death that she learned she was living in a storybook called After She Faked Her Death, the Heir Apparent Entered the Wife-Chasing Crematorium.

It was a winding and sentimental love story.

The heroine of the story was His Majesty’s niece—Chang Le Princess, Wen Shan—and the hero was the Heir Apparent of the Jing An Marquis Estate, Gu Yuanchen.

The entire story unfolded from the heroine’s perspective.

—Chang Le Princess was noble and radiant, deeply favored by the Emperor. She fell in love with Gu Yuanchen at first sight during a palace banquet. Her mother, Grand Princess Cheng Ping, doted on her daughter and thus requested an imperial decree to marry her to Heir Apparent Gu. Afterward, she had his “White Moonlight” married off to a distant land.

The story began three years later, when the Heir Apparent, returning from an official trip, brought back the “White Moonlight,” who was in a miserable state, and wanted to settle her properly.

The return of the “White Moonlight” caused the couple’s conflicts to escalate continuously. After a “choose one of two on a cliff” incident, the Princess’s heart died completely. It wasn’t until the Princess faked her death that the Heir Apparent belatedly realized he only had guilt and pity left for his “White Moonlight,” while his true, unforgettable love was for his wife…

At the end of the story, the male lead succeeded in winning back his wife and slayed the “blackened” “White Moonlight.”

…

Most unfortunately, Su Zhenyue was that “White Moonlight” who was married off, abused, thrown off a cliff… gradually “blackened,” and was ultimately killed by the male lead’s own hand.

If the contents of the dream were true, then the story had not officially begun yet. This was just a scene from the flashbacks.

—On the fourth day after their wedding, the male and female leads had a fierce conflict over the “White Moonlight” falling into the water.

Next, to ensure her daughter’s marital bliss, the Grand Princess would send people to kill the “White Moonlight.” When that failed, she would simply marry the “White Moonlight” off to the distant region of Shu.

This backstory, which the storybook had glossed over, was something Su Zhenyue had experienced with stark reality in her dream.

Thinking of the miserable state she was in while in Shu, she shivered violently and grabbed Nanxing’s hand, her fair face growing even paler and more fragile.

How wonderful. Nanxing’s hand was still warm. She had not yet died a tragic death in Shu trying to protect her.

It was all fake. It was all a dream.

Seeing her strange expression, Nanxing grew more uneasy. “Young lady, what’s wrong?”

Having been by Su Zhenyue’s side for years, Nanxing knew that although she appeared elegant and delicate, she was incredibly resilient on the inside. This was the first time she had ever seen her show such obvious fear. Even when the Heir Apparent had been forced to marry another due to the imperial decree, she hadn’t reacted this strongly. Could it be that there was truly a hidden story behind her falling into the water this time?

“Could it really be…”

“The Princess didn’t push me.” Su Zhenyue shook her head gently and, with Nanxing’s support, slowly sat up. “Doukou, give me the medicine.”

Her clothes had been soaked through after falling into the water and had long since been changed. The white nightgown was exceptionally loose, its sash casually outlining her figure, revealing a slender waist that one could encircle with a single grasp. Her long hair cascaded softly by her side, further accentuating her refined and otherworldly beauty, so lovely and pitiable.

Doukou stared blankly for a moment before dazedly handing over the medicine bowl. “It really wasn’t her?”

—When the young lady fell into the water, they hadn’t been present and hadn’t seen it with their own eyes. But Heir Apparent Gu had insisted…

Nanxing, meanwhile, placed a bolster behind Su Zhenyue’s back and helped tidy the corners of her quilt.

“She didn’t push me.” The medicinal liquid was bitter. Su Zhenyue couldn’t help but furrow her long, slender brows, a watery sheen appearing in her almond eyes. She ate a candied fruit and rinsed her mouth before feeling slightly better. But her heart still ached with a bitter sorrow.

Yes, by the pond, Chang Le Princess had not reached out to push her. But it was indeed because the matron beside the Princess had suddenly approached and shouted a reprimand that she had been startled, lost her footing, and fallen into the water, losing consciousness.

Chang Le Princess felt wronged, but how could Su Zhenyue not feel that she had been terribly unlucky?

She had already been sent away to the country estate, yet she still had to suffer this calamity.

Doukou was a little sheepish. “But the Heir Apparent said…”

“He is prejudiced against the Princess and didn’t see clearly, so he misunderstood.” Su Zhenyue closed her eyes, still holding Nanxing’s hand, unwilling to let go.

In that book, the Jing An Heir Apparent, Gu Yuanchen, had originally been childhood sweethearts with Su Zhenyue, the orphan girl living in the Marquis Estate, but was forced to marry Chang Le Princess, Wen Shan. With his cold personality and dissatisfaction with the marriage, he was quite indifferent to his new wife.

On the fourth day of their marriage, Gu Yuanchen learned that his “White Moonlight” had been sent by his grandmother to a country estate in the capital’s suburbs to “recuperate.” He went to visit her in private, only to be secretly followed by his wife. When he returned after a brief departure, he happened upon the scene of his “White Moonlight” struggling in the water, while his wife and her servants, who should have been at the Jing An Marquis Estate, were standing by the pond. He immediately suspected that his wife, Chang Le Princess, had acted out of jealousy.

But Chang Le Princess was a proud person and disdained to defend herself.

The couple argued. In a fit of anger, the Princess went straight back to her maternal home.

As for Gu Yuanchen, he had just found a physician and, before his “White Moonlight” could even wake up, was urgently summoned back to the Marquis Estate.

…

At this thought, a chill ran through Su Zhenyue’s heart. “How long was I unconscious?”

“Five shichen.”

“Where are the Princess and the Heir Apparent? Are they still at the estate?”

Nanxing and Doukou glanced at each other and shook their heads in unison. “The Princess went directly back to the Princess’s residence.”

“What about the Heir Apparent?” Su Zhenyue’s voice trembled slightly.

“The Heir Apparent was going to wait for you to wake up, young lady, but someone from the Marquis Estate came and summoned him back,” Doukou said timidly.

Su Zhenyue fell silent, the chill in her heart deepening.

It was exactly the same as in the dream.

In that long dream, after “Su Zhenyue” regained consciousness, she was afraid she had caused a huge disaster and wanted to clarify things immediately. But she didn’t get the chance, because it began to rain heavily that night, and while still running a high fever, she was targeted in an assassination attempt.

That’s right, the assassination.

If that dream was real, the assassins were probably already lying in ambush nearby.

But how could that be possible? They were living, breathing people. She had lived in this world for seventeen years. How could she be a character in a storybook? And one with such a tragic ending?

But what if…

The candlelight flickered, and Su Zhenyue’s expression changed again and again, her mind a tangled mess.

She wanted to lead her people away to safety, but she was afraid of running right into the ambushing assassins and making things worse.

—After all, in the dream, everyone at the estate had narrowly escaped this calamity. If they tried to hide, they might not be so lucky.

“Is the young lady awake?” Auntie Tian’s voice suddenly sounded from outside, accompanied by the patter of the rain. “There’s a master and a servant at the gate. They claim to be a provincial graduate named Shen, on his way to the capital for the imperial examination. Because it’s dark and the rain is heavy, they wish to stay at our estate for one night and will leave at dawn.”

“Young lady?” Nanxing and Doukou looked at Su Zhenyue, waiting for her instructions.

Su Zhenyue’s eyelashes trembled, a strange light flashing in her eyes. Named Shen? Is it… Shen Ji?!

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and, just as in the dream, slowly said, “Take them to the side courtyard to stay.”

If the dream was real, and there were truly assassins tonight, then everyone’s lives would likely depend on these two lodgers.

Author’s Note:

Mwah, I started this new book a bit impulsively. The cover is still in production.